Come to think of it, “Days of Thunder” is a modern-day “Ben-Hur,” complete with souped-up turbo-chariots and a Messalalike adversary. It’s inconceivable that a “Ben-Hur” would be made in an era when a movie like “Days of Thunder” costs $70 million to $80 million. The main pleasure in revisiting this 3-hour-and-32-minute (plus intermission) behemoth is for its heavyset charms-and the nostalgia that goes with them. The tastefully rendered agonies of Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), prince of Judea, and his knockdown, drag-out snit with Roman tribune Messala (Stephen Boyd) are inflated to the tune of $15.9 million, a record budget for the time. Released in 1959, it had all the requisite Oscar credentials of its era: a biblical theme, a mega-budget, stentorian performances, ear-splitting soundtrack. It’s easy to see why the movie won 11 Oscars-still the record. Today’s three-week revival of William Wyler’s “Ben-Hur” at the Cinerama Dome in a newly restored 70-millimeter, six-channel stereo print prompts the revival of that old joke: What did I think of the film? Liked Ben, hated Hur.
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